It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Tonight we went into the attic and got all of our Christmas goodies down to start decorating. Daddy and I worked on the outside Christmas lights for awhile and then I came inside to help mommy and my baby with putting the tree together. Yes...you read that right. Mommy is very proud of her snap together, plug it in and voila instant Christmas tree. We had fun singing songs and decorating the tree while my baby had fun taking the ornaments off of the tree. After we were finished, Tatie and I helped (sort of) mommy make hot chocolate and we all sat around the tree admiring our work. I think I'm a little too excited because I had the carrots ready for rudolph and cookies ready for Santa but mommy said I'm a couple weeks too early. I don't know if I can wait until Christmas!

(notice where my baby's hand is?)

We weren't in the mood to take a Christmas pic
...but if you add hot chocolate and warm milk, we may be talked into it.

Now the Christmas tree is complete with it's sword topper! My idea, of course!

He's Baaaaccccckkkk!

Frostin is our 'elf on the shelf' and he's back! He showed up while we were decorating for Christmas and I found him hanging out on the front porch light. Silly Frostin! Frostin watches us each day and flies back to Santa at the North Pole ever night to report on our behavior. Then each morning, we have to find Frostin's new hiding place. We're trying to be on our best behavior because we want Santa to bring us lots of goodies!

Fun Times on the Farm

Going to Mama's is always a treat. My baby and I cruise around the farm on our tractor, chasing (I mean feeding) cows, exploring....you know the drill. There's always fun to be had when Mama is around.

My baby figured out how to drive the tractor!
Hmmm....I wonder what mischief I could get into with this contraption.

Our annual trip to the Christmas lights

Picking tangerines with my Mama.

Happy Turkey Day!

We spent Thanksgiving afternoon in Tomball with mommy's family and then after lunch, we went to College Station for not only the Gig 'Em Aggies vs t-sips game but also to celebrate Thanksgiving with daddy's family. Seeing family and especially my cousins is always so much fun since my baby and I are the youngest and we get spoiled even more than normal! We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, too.

In Tomball with some of my cousins Hayden, Mallory and Avery

Another cousin pic - this time with Reese included
It's the Tomball Bunch! (although we're missing a lot of our 'bunch' this year)

My cousin Reese is too cool for words! He's also an amazing gymnast - watch for him in future Olympics (seriously)

Facing the World

For the first time, Tate gets to face out in her car seat! We thought she'd be more excited or at least give us some sort of reaction but she seemed to just take it all in. It was fun on the way to school singing and clapping to 'Pop Goes the Weasel' and now mommy can watch us BOTH dance in the back seat. Congratulations, big girl!

Milk Bonding

There's nothing better than a little bonding time with my baby, my green pillow and our warm milk milk.

Girls vs Boys

Yes, there are many differences between girls and boys but it's amazing to that boys are naturally drawn to the trucks, trains, cranes and girls are drawn to the dollies. Here is Tatie's new baby.....and she loves to cuddle with her.

Shhhh! Giving baby her pacifier.

We're going on a bear hunt.......

We went to College Station today with the Stephens family to watch my gig' em Aggies play the Baylor Bears. Emmylou had never been to an Aggie game (because her parents are both t-sips) but it didn't take her long to join in on the maroon and white fun! I think she looks pretty good in maroon, don't you?

Thanksgiving Feast 2009

We had our annual Thanksgiving Feast at school today and it's so much fun because we get to bring ANYTHING we want! Anything? Yes, anything. Our teachers ask our favorite foods and we get to bring enough to share with our classmates. I brought pancakes! We also had mac n cheese, olives, cherries, bacon, cheese, marshmellows, brownies, Chick fil A french fries and so much more. Now, that's MY kinda lunch.

My baby getting a quick nap in my classroom before the big feast

We made all of the decorations!
Enjoying our lunch after singing our Thanksgiving song

After-feast reading time with my friends and my baby

Dart Bowl

What to do, what to do on a Monday morning with 3 pre-schoolers and 3 toddlers? BOWLING! After the gym, we were all off to Dart Bowl and Miss Becca was smart enough to bring a pack n play for the babies. It would have been a greater plan if only they would have stayed in it. The babies were our cheerleaders and clapped for us when we were up to bowl and we were pretty proud of our skills in our cool little bowling shoes. After lunch and a quick game in the arcade, we all went home for a nice, long, quiet nap. Ah.....fun times at the bowling alley.

Mommy and me
Emmylou and her mommy

Sebastian and his mommy

The bowling cheerleaders!

Going for the STRIKE!

When Daddy's away, Mommy......

....goes a little nutty. Especially when he's gone all week like this week and mommy is on guard 24/7. Thank goodness for sweet neighbor friends who invited us over for dinner tonight. BREAKFAST for dinner! Can life get any better?

Playtime with Morgen before breakfast. Eh, I mean dinner!

Breakfast of champions! Eggs, bacon, apples and Kerbey Lane waffles (not shown. in bellies)

Tate's check up

Today my baby had to go to the dr to check her iron levels and get another round of shots. She was pretty brave but 3 shots is a little much for a little peanut. She also can turn around in her car seat and face out like a big girl and she weighed in at 19lbs 12oz. Yeah, Tatie! The dr thinks she might be lactose intolerant and has mommy trying a few new things over the next couple of weeks. We'll see what happens!

(No Tatie. Oreos are NOT rich in iron!)

Run for the Water 2009

Mommy's office is the title sponsor for this year's 'Run for the Water' and mommy and I decided to have a special day together and do the kid's 1k run. We got up really early and went to the 1st street bridge to prepare for our race. For each person who participates in the race, it helps one person in the country of Burundi gain access to fresh drinking water for the rest of their life. Isn't that so cool? Of course I wanted to help and happily put on my 'fast running shoes'. We stretched and then I heard 'ready, set, go'. I ran the entire race and mommy was so proud of me! Afterwards, I told mommy I wanted to run another race but she didn't seem to interested because it was a 5k. I think a 1k is all my mommy can handle. Jake and Sophie ran the 5k with their mommy and daddy and did awesome! I can't wait until next year when I can run for another child in Burundi.

Kisses from mommy before we head out to the race

Stretching for the big race
More stretching
It's the finish line!!

Meeting Mr. Gilbert, founder of The Gazelle Foundation

The Switch Witch

With Halloween, came lots of trick or treat candy and of course, my cake from the cake walk. Last night, we left all of my candy and cake out for the Switch With, along with a note, and she took it all in exchange for a surprise. She brought me BYRON THE BULLDOZER! It's the best present ever and I love my new Thomas the train addition. Thank you Switch Witch!

Tate is 13 months old

Dearest Tate -

Are you still considered a baby now that you're officially OVER 12 months or do I have to consider you a toddler? You definitely have the personality of a toddler but I can't really wrap my mind around the fact that you're getting so big so fast. I think I'll keep referring to you as my baby. It's been fun watching the changes in you and the milestones you reach almost daily. You're a feisty little thing and definitely hold your own with your brother but at the same time, you can be so sweet and cuddly when you want to and you think he's the coolest thing ever. You still aren't walking 100% but you can do it when you're not thinking about it. You stand for long periods of time and after a few steps across the room, you go the easy route and crawl where you want to go. You are obsessed with the stairs and it drives me crazy. You think of it as a game and when you see me coming, you giggle and crawl up the stairs as fast as you can. We're working on coming down the stairs and when you have that conquered, I think I'll feel a little better about it. Your brother likes to entice you up the stairs which really doesn't help my cause. You just always want to be where he is. I also think the 2 of you are going to enjoy getting into mischief together. Just this week, your brother decided to put you on a tricycle in the driveway and push you down the little hill. The problem? You're not real steady on the tricycle and face-planted right on your face - complete with nose scab and bruised forehead. You're tough though and one day, I think you'll give your brother a run for his money. Your favorite toys are your ball popper and your brother's leap frog train. You drag that thing all over the house! Your new favorite person is Miss Connie. She keeps you a couple times a week and you get so excited when you see her and you cry when you have to leave her. I'm not going to get a complex but geez - it seems like you're all tears when you're with me and all smiles with her. She does have the tendency to spoil the little ones though, so I can't blame you!

You're still a great eater except for eggs. Now that you can have them, you'll have nothing to do with them. You don't even want them anywhere near your highchair tray. "I will not eat them here or there, I will not eat them anywhere!" Knowing some of the struggles my friends face with their kids at meal time, I won't even complain. You're a huge milk drinker and are starting to pudge up a bit. You have a dr. appt this week and I'm anxious to see what your latest weight is and if you can turn around in your car seat yet.

Although you're challenging at times, I adore you and you make our family complete. You really are so much fun and I love you, sweet girl.

Love, Mommy

Santa and his Elks

Tripp: Daddy, where is that train going?

Daddy: I don't know but it's heading north.

Tripp: I think it's going to the north pole to take automobiles to Santa's elks.

Susan Koman Race for the Cure 2009

Today daddy was Mr. Mom while mommy participated in the Susan Koman Race for the Cure 5k. It's a great event but it's especially special because mommy, Aunt Brenda and Aunt Cindy walk in it each year together in honor of Aunt Brenda and so many others that have been affected by breast cancer. This year, they were fancy with their tutus and even ran across the finish line! Maybe next year they'll actually run the 5k instead of just the last 100 yards. Then again, maybe not.